Fountain Valley football preview: Fenton turning Barons around

A few steps inside Fountain Valley’s football office, two white T-shirts hang curiously on the wall.

The words “Line Six” are printed in blue across the chest of the shirts, which appear spotted with mud. But after a closer look, it’s clear that the large, rust-colored smudges aren’t mud. They’re blood.

The stains aren’t fresh, but the shirts are dripping with insight into the culture being created by Coach Ray Fenton as he attempts to turn around one of the county’s most storied football programs. The Barons open their season against Foothill at Tustin High on Friday night, the county’s first busy night of high school football in 2013.

“(Those shirts) being up there just shows how hard we’ve been working,” Barons junior Andrew Scott said. “We’re trying to get after it. I think that’s the biggest change here: the tempo.”

Scott knows how fast the pace can get. One of the stained shirts belongs to him. The linebacker bloodied his nose during a spring drill after accidentally colliding with a teammate.

The practice tempo isn’t the only change. Fenton has introduced Fountain Valley to the ideas of “Line Six,” a reference to the sixth line of a poem about teamwork.

The sixth line reads: A team and a family.

“We are a family,” Fenton said. “When things get tough, we refer to Line Six, and we stick together.”

TURNAROUND TIME

Fenton’s touches are visible throughout Fountain Valley’s football office. One of his favorites is a display of dozens of photos of former standout Barons.

Fountain Valley has played in four CIF-Southern Section finals, winning titles in 1978 and 1988. The Barons lost in the finals in 1987 and 1980, the latter to Edison in front of almost 29,000 at Angel Stadium.

But the past decade has been tough. The Barons haven’t won a playoff game since 2003 and haven’t beaten Sunset League rival Edison in the “Battle for the Bell” game since 2004.

Turnarounds, however, are one of Fenton’s specialties.

Cypress endured consecutive 1-9 seasons before Fenton took the reins in 2005. In 2006, the Centurions reached the Southern Division semifinals, and the next season, they were Southern Division champions. Fenton was named coach of the year in 2007 for the Register and the state.

Cypress then claimed undefeated Empire League titles in Fenton’s final two seasons in 2008 and 2009. The Centurions gave Mater Dei a scare in a memorable 2009 nonleague game before losing, 21-16.

Fenton has reassembled much of his Cypress coaching staff at Fountain Valley. Ex-Cypress coaches Michael Cobleigh, John Eyman and Jeff Crooks are the coordinators.

“Line Six” also hails from Cypress. Former Cypress Coach John Selbe wrote the poem, and Fenton, an alumnus of Cypress, still holds it close.

So what will it take to be successful at Fountain Valley? A new sign outside the football office provides a hint: Dreams don’t work unless you do.

“This community still remembers those (glory) days, and they want to get back to those days and they’re willing to do the work to get there,” Fenton said. “I think (the kids) are all in … and we as coaches are really excited about them.”

LONGING FOR HOME

Fenton arrived at Fountain Valley in December as the replacement for John Shipp, who resigned after nine seasons.

While the Barons’ on-the-field performance appeared in need of an upgrade, Fenton needed the Barons just as much as they seemed to need him.

Fenton spent the previous three seasons coaching at Webb, a small boarding school in Claremont.

Webb became Fenton’s refuge after he grew weary of the annual threat of staff reductions at Cypress at the time.

While Webb’s strong academic programs served Fenton’s son, T.J., well for three years, the fiercely competitive side of the coach never was satisfied.

When he arrived at the school, Fenton heard visions of Webb trying to become a small, private-school football power, but that never materialized.

“We (were) allowed five hours a week to practice,” he said. “That’s lifting, film, meetings, on the field, because they (the players are) so scheduled up the entire day.”

Even at the small-school level, that commitment wasn’t nearly enough, Fenton said.

“A lot of those smaller schools are figuring it out that it’s a year-round program now, and they are coming in and they are 300-pound, bench-press guys. … I got 145(-pound kids) playing defensive tackle.”

Fenton’s 6-foot-4, 170-pound son played quarterback. And in an act of some family preservation, Fenton also began coaching an offensive line that featured four starting freshmen.

Player safety became his chief concern. Webb forfeited a game last season after losing five starters from its already-thin roster.

Fenton was concerned but stayed positive.

“Last year was probably one of the most fun years I’ve ever had coaching just because of the relationships I had with those kids,” Fenton said. “Now, at the same time, you’re leading them into a game and you’re just going, ‘Oh, my God. Please be safe.’”

Webb finished the season 1-8, but without any major injuries. T.J. flashed enough potential that he signed with Southern Utah.

Fenton was ready to make his own move.

“I was reading (the Register’s) stuff after the first year (at Webb), going, ‘I’ve got to get back (to Orange County),’” he said. “This is the greatest place on earth for high school football.”

FAMILY MATTERS

Step onto the practice field at Fountain Valley and the high-paced tempo and enthusiasm are quickly obvious.

The offense finished a recent practice by running nearly 30 plays in about 20 minutes of scrimmage.

Before each snap, defensive players shouted out observations and assignments. At the conclusion of each play, defensive players and coaches sprinted to the ball, where the polishing of technique and strategy continued.

Fenton sharpened his approach to practice after attending a grassroots coaching seminar hosted by the NFL.

“One of the many things I got out of there was if we get out of our car and close the door, and we can hear football practice going … we know it’s a good practice,” he said.

“The parents (in the houses near our field) have been complaining because we’re a little loud in the back, but we’re not a profanity staff. We’re just high-energy, excited, playing football.”

Fountain Valley also commits to completing its work in united fashion. That’s what “Line Six” is about.

“We’ve grown as a family,” Scott said. “That’s the only way we’ll get better.”

There also is a strong discipline element to Fenton’s approach. Players are required to tuck in their T-shirts at practice. They can’t wear hoods or non-Fountain Valley hats on campus.

“Coach Fenton’s rules are like the Ten Commandments,” senior tight end Jake Desierto said. “He’s teaching us to be leaders.”

Fenton’s efforts included having the seniors read former Ohio State football Coach Jim Tressel’s best-selling book “The Winners Manual.” Fenton led discussions with players about the book.

“It was a team-bonding session for the seniors to really open up and share their experiences and the relationship between their lives and the book,” Desierto said. “It really opened our eyes to try to help other people, our brothers.”

Fountain Valley High School ASB staff member Salma Perez is helping the Barons prepare for another season. With a new coach and leadership among the student body, Perez is more than excited for the season.

Perez, 26, shared some thoughts on her expectation for the upcoming season and what’s she’s doing off the field to get players ready for game day.

Q: What’s your role at Fountain Valley High School?

A:Right now, I’m helping with ASB and I’m a substitute. I was a PE teacher last year and the year before.

Q: How are you involved with the Fountain Valley High School Football team?

A:Ever since we got our new coach, our goal for ASB and football is to build a bridge between the two and close the gap with leadership roles. I know Coach (Ray) Fenton really believes that all football players should be leaders on campus, not just on the field. Our goal is take ASB’s leadership role and football’s leadership role and implement it all over campus to help build a healthy environment for all students.

Q: Does this program have a name?

A:I wouldn’t say there’s an actual program for it. With Coach Fenton, the seniors on the football team read this book called, “The Winner’s Manual,” and it talks about characteristics of a leader and not just on the field, but in life. Last spring, there was a select group of students that were nominated by teachers because they were considers leaders. That group and the group of seniors who read the book met up at a leadership seminar and discussed topics in the book that had to do with leadership and how to be role model not just on the field, but in life too.

Q: How do you think the players/students have responded?

A:To be honest, and I’ve heard this from other teachers, the impact has been tremendous and it’s only been a semester. I know there are a couple of kids who were part of the leadership seminar in the spring that are now in our ASB class. I’ve talked to them about their experience about that and they thought it was pretty cool and they see that there is a bigger picture. I’ve noticed it with our football team; it completely turned their attitudes around.

Q: How excited are you for the upcoming year?

A:I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited for a football season. I’m actually extremely excited. I’m looking forward to going out and watching the players perform. I’ve noticed a lot of hard work from all of our teams and all of our players. They definitely are dedicated to the program. It’s really exciting to see them work hard and have something to look forward to. We’re all pretty anxious for the season to start. There’s a quote – I don’t remember who said it, but I think it was Bill Walsh – “as we develop young men of character, then the score will take care of itself.” And I really believe that and I know Coach Fenton believes it and I think that’s what we’re going to see.